Winnipeg police warn of risks of driving while high amid campaign targeting drivers impaired by cannabis

Winnipeg police are hoping drivers get the message of their new campaign aimed at educating Manitobans about the dangers of getting behind the wheel high, and dispelling myths around risk.

Through February, the public will begin to see social media ads and roadside billboards with the phrases "Don't Drive High" and "Dangerous, detectable and definitely illegal."

"Impaired driving continues to be a risk to public safety," Brian Miln, superintendent of the WPS traffic division, said during a news conference on Thursday. "Each year we still hear of the tragic consequences of the choice to drive under the influence, yet it remains 100 per cent preventable."

Winnipeg police launched an enforcement campaign in mid-January where they said they would be cracking down on drivers caught under the influence of cannabis and other drugs.

Miln said Winnipeg police have seen "concerning results."

As part of the project police have so far conducted 113 traffic stops and performed 48 oral fluid tests on drivers. Of those 48, 23 tested positive for cannabis, according to a police news release. One roadside breath test during the campaign also resulted in a driver failing due to alcohol consumption.

Miln said while public messaging on the risk of driving while impaired by alcohol has been going on for decades, legalization of cannabis in 2018 has "added an additional layer of challenges" related to public education and enforcement.

Stephane Fontaine, a patrol sergeant with the Winnipeg Police Service traffic division, said one of the goals of the ad campaign and traffic stops is to dispel common myths surrounding cannabis and driving.

One such myth he says is some people believe that cannabis actually makes them better drivers.

"That's simply wrong. The stats show that the risk of getting into a collision more than doubles," he said. "People just don't appreciate the dangers of getting behind wheel while high."

Tanya Hansen Pratt, president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said research suggests driving while impaired by cannabis can reduce concentration and attention span, lower reaction times and alter drivers' perception of time and distance.

She said she hopes the ad campaign and crackdown helps to change minds and discourage risky behaviour behind the wheel.

"It is never worth the risk: not to yourself, to your passengers or other drivers on the road, not to innocent people who were simply out for their morning walk as my mother … was doing when she was struck and killed by an impaired driver, a driver who had been consuming alcohol and cannabis," said Pratt, whose mother Beryl Hansen, 59, died in 1999 near Portage la Prairie.

"Please plan ahead for a sober drive. It only takes a few minutes and it can prevent a lifetime of grief and heartache."